DNR seeks angler help for monitoring walleye

Saturday, April 12, 2014

LANSING (AP) >> State wildlife biologists are seeking help from anglers who catch walleye in Saginaw Bay tributary rivers.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Fisheries Division plans to tag nearly 3,000 walleye in the Tittabawassee River and other streams over the next two weeks. Anglers are asked to collect information on tagged fish they catch and report it. The data includes when and where the fish were landed, their length and weight, and a tag identification number.

More than 100,000 of the popular fish have been tagged since 1981. It’s part of a project to monitor walleye survival and exploitation rates.

The DNR’s Southern Lake Huron Management Unit uses electrofishing boats to temporarily stun the fish so they can be netted and a small metal tag affixed to their jaw.